Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that the deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets.

About the Author

Mick Herron was born in Newcastle and has a degree in English from Balliol College, Oxford. He is the author of three books in the Slough House series, Slow Horses, Dead Lions, and Real Tigers; the standalone thriller Nobody Walks; and a mystery series set in Oxford. His work has been nominated for the Macavity, Barry, and Shamus Awards, and he has won the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel. He lives in Oxford and works in London.

clever and funny

5

The List is a novella in the Slough House series by British author, Mick Herron. John Bachelor does the milk run: he looks after those assets no longer active, retired spooks who have come in from the cold but might still have sensitive information in their possession. "...his role was to make sure they suffered no unwelcome intrusions, no mysterious clicks on the landline; above all, that they weren't developing a tendency to broadcast the details of their lives to anyone who cared to listen. It sometimes amused Bachelor, sometimes depressed him, that he worked for the secret service in an era where half the population aired its private life on the web. He wasn't sure the Cold War had been preferable, but it had been more dignified"
One of his assets, Dieter Hess has died of natural causes, but now Regent's Park has uncovered a bank account that no one knows about, and that needs a closer look. Eventually, Bachelor finds a hand-written coded list that might offer a clue as to what Hess was up to, and whether he was a double agent.
Even Jackson Lamb's almost cameo appearance in this small but excellent dose of Slough House confirms his "canny but obnoxious" description. It also introduces J K Coe, who joins the Slough House crew in a later book. The Kindle version also has a preview of another Herron book, Nobody Walks. Clever and funny and worth the cash outlay.

Cloggie Downunder

Thirroul

2017-05-06

true

Loved it

5

Mick Herron has a sharp wit and intense observation skills, he applies them with great timing.

Ssp39

Victoria, Australia

2017-04-18

true

The List

5.02

100.0

Praise for Mick Herron

"Mick Herron never tells a suspense story in the expected way."--The New York Times Book Review

"Delightful . . . with a dry humor reminiscent of Greene and Waugh."--The Sunday Times, Best Thrillers and Crime Novels of the Past 5 Years

"Herron's remarkable novel has enough suspense, action, and deductive dazzlement to keep genre fans happy. But be warned: these are deep waters, and this is not nodding-off, night-table reading."Booklist, Starred Review